Donald Trump Vows to Create 25 Million Jobs Over Next Decade - New York Times

He partly rolled back his earlier proposals to reduce corporate taxation: Mr. Trump still proposes a 15 percent tax rate on corporate income, but it would no longer apply to business income reported on personal taxes, generally limiting the lower rate to the largest corporations. He also reduced a tax break that generated backlash because it would particularly benefit real estate developers.

Mr. Trump also now proposes to cut federal taxes by $4.4 trillion, not $10 trillion; he insists the plan would ultimately cost the government only $2.6 trillion in revenue, with the difference made up in economic growth.

Im Christina Bellantoni, and after a quiet holiday weekend, Essential Politics is back with a jam-packed day ahead.

Thanks to John Myers for keeping the newsletter lively while I was on vacation in Europe. And as much as I attempted to escape politics for a few days, I quickly found that wouldnt be possible.

The Brexit vote was announced the first day of the trip, and I saw reverberations everywhere I went. In three countries and talking to dozens of people, I met just one person who supported the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union, while the others were devastated and still a little shell-shocked.

Gulf of Mexico a short-term bright spot for oil

WASHINGTON, April 13 (UPI) -- The U.S. Gulf of Mexico may return as the primary source of additions to crude oil production as onshore production fades, a federal report finds.

A short-term market report from the U.S. Energy Information Administration finds production will decline in most of the Lower 48 states and Alaska because of the pressure from lower crude oil prices, which the report said should stay below $40 per barrel through the first half of 2017.

Onshore declines, the report said, should be offset by gains in the Gulf of Mexico in part because the offshore areas are less sensitive to short-term volatility in crude oil prices.

"Several projects in the Gulf of Mexico that began operations or that will begin operations in 2014-16 will increase [regional] production from an average of 1.5 million barrels per day in 2015 to 1.9 million bpd in the fourth quarter of 2017," the report said.

EIA estimates output from the Gulf of Mexico will account for about 20 percent of total U.S. crude oil production by next year. Total U.S. crude oil production, meanwhile, declines from the 9.1 million bpd expected during the first quarter of the year to an average 7.9 million bpd by third quarter 2017.

Eight fields started production in the Gulf of Mexico last year. Four are expected to enter into operations in 2016, with the Heidelberg field already producing as of January.

The short-term market report said pressure from lower crude oil prices means companies are scaling back their investment programs, which should hurt output from onshore basins. Production since April 2015 has declined by about 700,000 barrels per day.

"The entire production decline came from Lower 48 onshore," the report said.

The Gulf of Mexico, however, is not immune from the pressure from lower crude oil prices. Few bidders emerged during a March auction for new acreage in the region, with no bids received for eastern parts of the area. Federal authorities said weak market conditions had "obviously" affected the industry's short-term investment decisions.

Overall, the EIA said it expects some level of recovery by late 2017 as oil prices are expected to hold above the $40 per barrel mark.

Dick Cheney Marble Bust Unveiled at Capitol - Daily Beast

A marble bust of former Vice President Dick Cheney was unveiled at the U.S. Capitol on Thursday morning. House Speaker Paul Ryan, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and former President George W. Bush turned out to honor Cheney as he was enshrined at the Capitol Visitor Centers Emancipation Hall. Vice President Joe Biden introduced Cheney, who gave prepared remarks on his tenure as the 46th vice president.

Historic climate deal is expected in Paris - Sacramento Bee

The international conference on climate change that opens here Monday is widely expected to produce a historic agreement among nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that scientists say cause global warming.

Laurent Fabius, the French foreign minister, said Saturday that 183 countries accounting for nearly 95 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions have submitted plans for how they would reduce emissions.

Pope Francis had a private meeting in Washington, D.C., with a gay couple a day before he met with Kentucky clerk Kim Davis, who spent time in jail last month for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Yayo Grassi, Francis' longtime friend from Argentina, spoke about the meeting during an interview with CNN. Grassi says that he and his partner, Iwan Bagus, and several others met with the pontiff at the Vatican Embassy on Sept. 23.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports:

"Grassi was a student of the pope when Francis taught in Argentina in the 1960s. He came with his partner. He says the pope has long known that he's gay but has never condemned him.

"Grassi says he believes the pope was misled into meeting Kim Davis, who has hailed her encounter as an endorsement of her defiance of US laws and refusal to issue same-sex marriage licenses."

As we reported Friday morning, the Vatican has issued a statement on the meeting with Davis, saying it "should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects." It said the pontiff met with dozens of people at the embassy, but that "the only real audience granted by the Pope at the Nunciature was with one of his former students and his family."

Bagus created a video of the encounter that shows Francis hugging and chatting with Grassi and the others.